Magnotta’s preliminary hearing could last 4 weeks
Judge quickly places publication ban on evidence presented
Luka Magnotta sat motionless in the prisoner’s box Wednesday, looking straight ahead with his hands folded on his lap as lawyers discussed who would testify at his preliminary inquiry and how it will unfold beginning March 11.
Though initially expected to last two weeks, four weeks have now been set aside for the pre-trial hearing into Magnotta’s alleged role in some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Quebec.
Magnotta, 30, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Chinese university student Jun Lin as well as defiling Lin’s corpse, harassing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other MPs and publishing and mailing obscene material — notably a video of the murder and the victim’s hands and feet. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has chosen to be tried before a jury.
At a meeting to prepare for the upcoming hearings, crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier told Judge LoriRenée Weitzman, who will preside over the inquiry, that in fact the investigation into the murder and dismemberment, allegedly filmed and posted online, is ongoing — here and in Europe, where Magnotta was arrested June 4 after a weeklong international manhunt.
Weitzman’s first order of business Wednesday was to place a publication ban on any evidence presented during the preliminary inquiry, at the defence’s request.
As per the rules of the court, any new evidence uncovered during ongoing investigations will be divulged to Magnotta and his lawyer, however, Bouthillier said.
Bouthillier told Weitzman he had originally planned on calling about 15 witnesses, including witnesses in Paris and Berlin and experts, among them a pathologist, a forensic biologist, a forensic toxicologist and a dental expert.
But he now believes he will have to call more witnesses because Magnotta’s defence lawyer, Toronto-based Luc Leclair, will not make any admissions on behalf of his client to speed the process along.
Leclair will not make an admission as to the identity of the victim, the identity of the accused or the time and date of the infraction.
The torso of Jun Lin, 33, who was studying computer engineering at Concordia University, was found May 29 stuffed in a suitcase outside the apartment in Côtedes-Neiges where Magnotta lived.
Magnotta is also accused of mailing body parts, via Canada Post, to different places including the Ottawa offices of the Conservative Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada and two Vancouver schools.
Any out-of-province or outof-country witnesses asked to testify at Magnotta’s preliminary inquiry may be able to do so via video conference, Bouthillier said.
The inquiry will be held in English, as Magnotta, who was born in Ontario, has requested, with the exception of testimony by Frenchspeaking witnesses, which will be simultaneously translated for the accused.
The inquiry will be held March 11 to 23, and, if need be, will continue June 3.